Crossed, Triple-Crossed/Plot
Henry and a distraught Paige are in Bob Cowan's office upon him discovering Little Henry's biological father. Mr. Cowan says that because they know he's the father, he has to know about Henry Jr., much to Paige's chagrin. Paige does not want to hand over the child she loves to a criminal and even contemplates running away with Henry and the kids. Paige and Henry search the internet for information on Little Henry's father; he is part of a big crime family, along with his father. However, it is mainly by reputation, as no one has ever been able to prove their crimes. Paige suggests hiring a detective. Henry notes it'll cost money that they don't have, but his wife has other ideas. In the manor, Paige makes a potion and prepares a spell. Piper and three months pregnant Phoebe voice their skepticism of the plan and Piper points out the potential personal gain aspect of what Paige is doing, but Paige insists that it's for Henry Jr. which means that she's protecting the innocent. thumb|300px Paige conjures a detective named Richard Quinn from one of her noir novels. Because he is in black and white, she uses make up to make him look real. Paige and Quinn break into the crime-family's office and start snooping, only to be found. They try to make a deal with the father and son, but the older crime boss throws them out. Quinn reassures Paige that it wasn't a waste of time — they just need to look for the weak link; something that will expose the family for what they are. They see Henry Jr.'s father and use him to their advantage. They tempt him with a deal offer, and Quinn coerces Paige to go on a date with the son. Despite Paige's annoyance, Quinn insists it's a good idea since their home is much too big to go "popping in on their own". Quinn also suggests that Paige gets to know the kid, because the real problem seems to be his father. They make it back to the Manor to discover that parts of it have start to turn black and white. Piper comes to the conclusion that Quinn brought some of his black-and-white world with him. The effects are spreading through the Manor. Piper wants to send him back but Paige insists that she needs him to help put away the crime family, since he knows how the criminal mind works. Phoebe says they know how to handle bad guys, but Paige points out that they know how to handle demons, not bad humans. Paige doesn't want to risk anything. She loves Henry Jr. too much. Piper and Phoebe will work on reversing the black-and-white in the Manor while Paige goes to see what she can find in the crime family home. Paige goes on the date with Henry Jr.'s father. Turns out he likes older women, but Paige says she pegged him as someone who liked girls his own age. He said he did have a serious relationship with someone once, but that he hasn't heard from her since she left him. He assumed she didn't like his lifestyle. Paige notices that there is a single dollar framed in the room they're in. The son says it's the first dollar his father ever laundered. The guy shows Paige that he has a tattoo for every person he's made "disappear" — with the first person when he was only 14 years old. There's three bullet tattoos. Paige manages to drug the guy with a potion hidden inside her ring by slipping it into his drink. He passes out on the sofa. Paige orbs Quinn into the house. Based on what he told Paige to look for in a place that might be hiding the incriminating goods — a place that would be hidden but somewhere that the father's ego would show it off at the same time: hiding it in plain sight. Paige figures that it'll be behind the laundered dollar, and lo and behold there's a safe there. Quinn hacks into the safe (using the internet/electronic know-how that Paige slipped into the spell used to conjure him). They find an envelope, a gun, some cash, and a USB drive. They check the USB on Paige's laptop. Quinn tells her that they'll have more than enough to send both father and son to prison for life. Paige then orbs Quinn back to the Manor (off-screen) and tends to the waking man she drugged. She leaves, saying she can't do business with a kid who can't hold his alcohol. She orbs home and tells her sisters that they got what she needed. Piper informs her that Quinn ran off as soon as he was orbed back to the Manor. Phoebe wants to know what happened to Paige. She holds up a mirror and it turns out Paige herself is now in Black and White! "The first one who tells me that they saw this coming is getting orbed to China." Phoebe says they need to get Quinn back before both Piper and herself also turn black and white, saying that she's already been that before. Paige isn't worried about the color issue, she's more worried about getting back the evidence on the Mercers, the crime family. She deduces that Scrying won't work since he's not real and that she can't send him back without getting the laptop back. She wants to know why Quinn left. Piper has a clue to that issue: he's on the phone. Quinn is offering a trade: the computer for being made real permanently. Paige says to meet in the Manor in an hour. They have time to put her plan in motion. An hour later, Piper answers the door and lets Quinn in. He plans to keep his end of the bargain as long as the girls do. They head upstairs as Quinn notes they seem to have fixed the black-and-white problem that the Manor faced — Piper says that only a few rooms have been reversed. The Attic, for example, is still affected. Quinn says that he knows what it took for Paige to make him, so he'll know if she's doing anything wrong. Paige performs the spell to make Quinn real. Wondering if it worked, Piper suggests he looks in the mirror and wipe off the make-up from before. It doesn't show any black-and-white. He goes to hand over the laptop to Paige, but he's been double (triple?) crossed. The real Paige hid away in the attic while the fake Paige, Henry under the effects of a glamour, performed the spell which, of course, didn't work. Paige points out that since Henry is mortal, any spell he performs simply won't work. Quinn is confused as his skin didn't return to black and white. Again, Paige points out how useful glamours are. She then pours a potion over Quinn and he is returned to the book he was conjured from. At Henry and Paige's home, while the two hold Henry Jr., Henry doesn't regret what he and Paige did to keep Henry Jr. safe from the life of crime that the Mercers lived. Paige agrees, especially after what Henry Jr.'s father said when Mr. Cowan told him about his son. Henry wonders what it was that he said, but Paige doesn't exactly expect him to sue for custody if he gets off from the charges. With all the information that was turned over to the police, Henry doesn't think it's likely that the Mercers will ever get off, saying the federal prosecutor said the Mercers will be going away for life. "The End." Epilogue: The two leave the room, with Henry saying it was fun to be in Paige's shoes again, even if he didn't get the cool powers this time. Paige says she's glad that Henry Jr. has a mortal role model in the family. "Things will be weird enough growing up as it is," she says. As they leave, Henry Jr.'s eyes begin to glow bright blue. His hand lights up and a pulse of energy shoots outward. We see Henry Jr.'s crib and all his toys covered in ice, which he seems ecstatic about. Category:Plot Sections Category:Season 9 Plots